Cracked Pepper and Garlic Tortellini en Brodo

House-made tortellini with a creamy filling of garlic and black pepper ricotta, served in a rich, warm broth with spinach and a garnish of tart pomegranate seeds. 

Ingredients

Procedure

Pasta Dough

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse until a shaggy dough forms. Pulse for longer stretches until dough comes together in a ball, adding water as needed, if dough is too dry to form a smooth ball.
2. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springs back when pressed. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest a minimum of 20 minutes. Refrigerate if not shaping pasta immediately.

Pasta Filling

1. Combine all ingredients until well blended.
2. Transfer filling to pastry bag. Hold refrigerated until ready to use.

Tortellini

1. Line sheet tray with parchment paper. Prepare small bowl of water for sealing pasta. Divide pasta dough in half, keeping unused half wrapped in plastic.
2. Using a pasta machine on #6 setting, roll out dough into thin sheets. (Depending on the pasta machine, it may be easier to divide dough into smaller batches.) Repeat process with remaining half of the dough. Place sheets of dough on parchment paper and cover with plastic or damp cloth to keep from drying out.
3. Use 2 1/2-inch diameter pastry cutter to punch circles in dough. For each circle, pipe about 1/2 teaspoon of the filling into middle of the dough circle.
4. Moisten edge of filled dough circle and fold in half, pinching well to seal. Take the two corners formed from the previous fold and bring together, pressing firmly to seal. Fold sealed edges up like a cuff. Place on prepared parchment-lined sheet tray and repeat.
5. Cover tray with plastic wrap and hold refrigerated until service or freeze to store.

Broth

1. In a pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add leeks, carrots, fennel, celery and Cracked Black Pepper & Garlic with Sea Salt Seasoning. Cook until caramelized and fragrant.
2. Add sage; cook until fragrant. Add chicken stock and water, scraping up fond. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Strain broth, return to pot and stir in lemon juice. Hold hot for service if using immediately or refrigerate to store.

Service

1. For each serving, bring 1 cup broth to a boil. Add 10 tortellini. Just as the pasta starts to float, add 1/4 cup of spinach and cook 2 minutes longer. Transfer broth, tortellini and spinach to serving bowl. Garnish with 2 Tablespoons pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.